U.S. House of Representatives
Elections 2018 Stevens moved back to Rochester Hills to run for the
United States House of Representatives seat in , launching her bid to unseat two-term Republican
Dave Trott on April 27, 2017. While his spokesperson initially described Stevens as a "
carpetbagger," Stevens argued that she was born and raised in Southeast Michigan, and had spent her early career working for Michigan. Trott announced his retirement in September 2017, making the 11th district an open seat. and
Republican businesswoman Lena Epstein in the general election. In August 2018, Stevens was named as part of the DCCC's Red to Blue program, which focused on flipping U.S. House districts by ousting Republicans, joining fellow Michiganders
Elissa Slotkin and
Gretchen Driskell.
Hillary Clinton recorded a late robocall in support of her. Following the robocall, she moved from second place in pre-election polls to winning the election.
Politico credited her robocalls for boosting Stevens' campaign. Stevens was also endorsed by President Barack Obama, who described Stevens as a "critical part" of his administration's efforts to bail out the auto industry. Stevens' victory, and that of
Elissa Slotkin in the neighboring 8th district, made it the first time since the 1930s that no Republicans represented
Oakland County in the House. Stevens and
Colin Allred, both alumni of the
Obama administration, were selected as co-presidents of the House Democratic freshman class of the
116th United States Congress. An October 2019 town hall on curbing gun violence turned contentious as protesters at the Commerce Township gun club, where the event was held, interrupted Stevens and other lawmakers. Stevens said "This is why the NRA has got to go" in response to protestors repeatedly shouting "NRA" in reference to the
National Rifle Association.
2020 Stevens ran for reelection. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the general election, she defeated the Republican nominee, Eric Esshaki, in a tighter race that saw early ad spending from Republican-allied Congressional Leadership Fund. In a 2020 floor speech, she shouted over the gavel of her own party saying that she was wearing pink latex gloves "not for personal attention" but to make a point about COVID. She reportedly outspent Levin by a factor of five. Much of her support was driven by the pro-Israel lobby which had spent $3 million on her campaign by July. Other dynamics in the race included generational and gender dynamics in the aftermath of the
Supreme Court's
overturning the
Roe v. Wade and
Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Stevens defeated Andy Levin, 60%-40%. Stevens focused her campaign on protecting reproductive rights and her background as a proponent of Michigan manufacturing, the state's dominant industry. Her victory was aided by $5 million from
EMILY's List-affiliated donors and by the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which invested $4.3 million targeting Levin and hailed her victory as proof that "being pro-
Israel is both good policy and good politics". Despite its large spending against Levin, AIPAC's ads did not mention its motivation for supporting Stevens. After redistricting, the new district contained more of Stevens' previous constituents than Levin, despite Levin's status as a member of a Michgan political dynasty. Stevens won the general election against Republican Mark Ambrose with 61.3% of the vote.
2024 Stevens was challenged by Ahmed Ghanim in the Democratic primary. She won renomination with 87.1% of the vote. In the general election, she won reelection against Republican Nick Somberg and Green Party candidate Douglas Campbell with 58.2% of the vote. Stevens has the worst
wins-above-replacement (WAR) rating among the six House Democrats from Michigan, according to
Split Ticket, though her WAR has been positive in three of her four House campaigns. Stevens voted in March 2023 with Democrats to oppose legislation proposed by Republicans to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's sports. Following Joe Biden's
debate with Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, Stevens "unequivocally" supported Biden stating, "I trust our president and know he is the one to finish the job". As Kamala Harris consolidated support as the new nominee after Biden dropped out, Stevens immediately endorsed her.
Committee assignments •
Committee on Education and Labor •
Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions •
United States House Education Subcommittee on Workforce Protections •
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections •
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology •
Subcommittee on Energy •
Subcommittee on Research and Technology (Ranking Member) •
Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party Caucus memberships •
Black Maternal Health Caucus •
Congressional Equality Caucus •
Congressional Ukraine Caucus •
New Democrat Coalition •
Problem Solvers Caucus •
Rare Disease Caucus == 2026 U.S. Senate election ==